


Sealed Story of the Sea Dragon 封鎖錄

by zaphri



Category: Ancient History RPF, Chinese Mythology, Historical RPF, Original Work
Genre: Dragons, F/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Tang Dynasty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-05-27 02:53:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6266620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaphri/pseuds/zaphri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong (唐玄宗) in the Tang Dynasty, one of his consorts gave birth to twins - a girl and a boy. However, the boy was separated from his family at birth and was raised by a man called Tian Lang (天狼). Tian Lang told the consort that her son's fate was predetermined by the skies, and if he remained in the Palace, both their lives would be difficult.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Seal

# 

# Prologue

 

It was the 12th day of the lunar month and time for the East Sea Dragon Crown Prince (東海龍王太子) to go on land to ensure the weather and sea levels were according to their Forecast Book. He flicked through the pages to see that he needed to create a thunderstorm.

He soared high into the skies, painting the skies grey. Once he reached above the clouds, he used his powers to call thunder and lightning. Thunder bellowed magnificently whilst lightning divided the skies with its blinding slash.

The Prince wandered across the land to make sure everything was according to the book. Just as he was about to return to his Palace, he saw a drowning child. He glanced across the horizon to see the sun almost setting. A rule was set to forbid the dragons from leaving the sea during night time, otherwise they would die as a mortal but their souls would be lost forever.

His father, the East Sea Dragon King (東海龍王), was worried about him and went to the surface of the sea.

“What are you doing? The sun is setting!” His father roared.

“That child is drowning,” the Prince replied as he kept staring at the child from the other side of the sea.

“We cannot meddle in human business. Come home, now!” The King ordered.

The Prince shook his head and dashed towards the child. As he got closer, he transformed himself to a human boy. The Dragon King was flustered. He wanted to use his powers to pull his son back to the Palace, but was stopped by his chancellor.

“My King, you must return to the Palace immediately! Otherwise you are risking the peace between the land and the sea!” The chancellor exclaimed. Reluctantly, the King returned to his Palace and prayed for his son to return safely.

The Prince managed to get the child onto the shore. The villagers saw and rushed to help them. The Prince glanced around to see that the storm had calmed down. The child that was in his arms finally woke up. His mother thanked the Prince repeatedly as she tightly embraced her child. The Prince smiled at the sight. Within a blink of an eye, everything darkened – not a glimpse of the sun was in sight. The Prince collapsed on the shore.

The villagers were shocked and mournful over his death. They sent him to a local temple, and asked if there was anything the monks could do to help him in his afterlife. The eldest monk took a look at the Prince and shook his head.

“There is no soul,” he said.

The villagers told him that it was impossible as they saw him save a child. The wise monk did not understand what was going on, so he prayed day and night for Guan Yin (觀音) to give him guidance.

One night, Guan Yin entered his dreams and told him the story of the Dragon Prince. He was told that to help the Prince, he would need to get everyone in the village to pray by singing the Heart Sutra (般若波羅蜜多心經) seven thousand times.

When the monk woke up, he told the villagers his dream and the entire village began to sing the Heart Sutra. Gradually, their voices travelled the heavens and the Jade Emperor (玉帝) was aware of the situation.

The East Dragon King also went to see him at his court. The Dragon King bowed before the Jade Emperor and begged him to forgive his son.

The Jade Emperor waved his hand and brought the Prince’s soul to the court. The Prince knelt down before the Jade Emperor as well.

“Your story has touched the villagers and the skies,” said the Jade Emperor. “However, I cannot just let this slide, as I must keep order in the Celestial Realm.”

“I understand that I have committed an offence to the skies. For that, I will be willing to accept any punishments you have for me,” the Prince said.

“I will give you a chance to reincarnate as a mortal. If you can do good deeds and overcome the tasks I set for you, then I will let you return to the sea.”

Both the dragons bowed and thanked the Jade Emperor. The Emperor’s guards then took the Prince’s soul to reincarnate. After the departure of the Prince, a star came to visit – Sirius (Tian Lang Xing– 天狼星).

“Jade Emperor, I would like to go to the Mortal Realm to help the Dragon Prince,” said the star. “Please allow me to do so.”

“I am sure the Dragon King is very delighted to hear your request. I will allow you to do so.”

The star morphed into a human figure and bowed to the Jade Emperor.

 

# Chapter One – Seal

 

The Imperial Palace is a dangerous place disguised in gold, jewels and flowery words. The walls of the Palace can make one miserable despite living with absolutely no worries. Yet, worries is something they yearn for. Continuously drawing, sewing and writing gives them no pleasure. They need objectives to motivate themselves to look forward to tomorrow. The maids and eunuchs want power and recognition, the Princes and Princesses want the Emperor’s attention whereas the concubines want the Emperor’s love.

All these objectives developed the Palace into a habitation of gossip, trickery and deceit. However, there are always two sides to create a balance. Some people in the Palace just want a peaceful life. Consort Zhao (趙才人) is a lowly ranked concubine that prays for stability in the Palace. The day she was meant to be happiest, turned out to be the end of her peaceful life.

She was told that she was pregnant with twins. She was delighted by the news and wanted to inform the Emperor immediately. Just as she was about to send a eunuch to tell the Emperor, a visitor arrived. It was a man with dark grey long hair with a beard that reached his collarbone. He dressed in a plain grey robe and carried a sword with him.

Consort Zhao was terrified by the man’s appearance. Just as she was about to scream, the stranger placed a hand over her mouth and whispered something she could not understand. Slowly, the hand was removed from her mouth. The concubine tried to scream, but no sounds came out. Her eyes widened in horror.

“Don’t worry, I will not hurt you. I just want to tell you a few things,” the man said with a slight smile as he paced around her room. “You are going to have twins, and it would be a boy and a girl.”

Consort Zhao stood there astounded by his words.

“The girl will be fine on her own, but the boy has a predetermined fate. Both of you would live a difficult life if you let him stay by your side. I came to see if we could do something about it. What would you like to do?” With a wave of a hand, the man used his powers to give the lady her voice back.

“W-what can I do?” She stammered.

“Do not tell the Emperor you have twins. Only tell him you are pregnant. When you give birth, I will come back to collect your son and will raise him outside the Palace.”

“Who are you? Why should I trust you? Will I ever see him again?”

“You can just call me Tian Lang （天狼）. You can think of me as a Celestial being that is sent to protect your son. I can promise you I will let him meet you when he turns seventeen. ”

The lady knelt on her knees. “If you could guarantee his safety until he grows up, I’m willing to hand him over.”

It wasn’t uncommon for the Princes to fight each other in order to gain the Emperor’s recognition to become Crown Prince. The thought of her child to possibly be involved in such conflicts encouraged her to give him away to someone who was confident in protecting him. After all, she was just a powerless concubine behind the Palace walls.

 

*

 

Nine months passed quickly. Too quickly for Consort Zhao’s liking, because the moment she gave birth would mean she would be separated from her son.

After hours of pain, the twins were finally born. They were both wrapped up in red and gold silk fabrics before handed to her. She stared at them with tears in her eyes. Just before the maid attempted to inform the Emperor, time stopped for all apart for the mother and twins.

Tian Lang suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Congratulations,” he said with a light bow and a soft smile. “Have they got names yet?”

The mother smiled. “I’ve discussed this with the Emperor. For the girl I’ll call her Li Ci (李慈), so she would grow up to be a kind hearted girl.”

Then there was a pause when she looked at her son.

“What about the son?” Tian Lang prompted.

“The Emperor wanted to call him Li Sheng (李盛), so he would grow up to be a magnificent person, but I want to give him the name Li Feng (李封). Feng (封) means seal. I hope he can seal and protect himself against all misfortunates. The word is made up of two earths (土) and one measurement* (寸). This is so he would able to remember the land he belongs and always have a scale in his heart, to measure the rights and wrongs,” the Consort explained.

“That’s a great name. You really put a lot of effort in that name.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“I have a gift for you children,” he said as a metal object appeared in his right hand. It was of a peculiar shape, like two distorted shells stuck together. “This object holds all my powers.” He then split the object into two parts. “These are talismans to protect your children from evil. They are unique so they can find each other when they grow older. Once the talismans interlock, the power will disappear, but it will also inform them of their family.”

He placed the talismans inside the fabric of each child.

“I will have to go now. The powers I possess will disappear soon. No one will remember the boy until they day the talismans interlock.”

Consort Zhao took one last look at her son before handing him over to Tian Lang. Tear drops gently cascaded from her eyes as she saw her new born child disappear in front of her eyes.

 

*

 

Tian Lang used the last ounce of his powers to escape from the Palace. He gave all his powers to the twin, so until the two unite he would have to live as a normal human being. He held the baby boy in his hands and wandered around the town.

Unfortunately, there was no place they could stay because they had no money. Tian Lang decided to head towards the forest to see if there was anything he could use to make shelter. As they stepped away from the town, he sensed that he was being followed. He glanced back to see a young boy crawling on the ground behind him. He was covered in dirt and wore torn rags. The boy snarled like a wolf.

Tian Lang was startled by the child. He didn’t understand why the child was behaving in such manner. A howl could be heard from the distance and the young boy calmed down. A grown adult wolf approached Tian Lang.

“Forgive his behaviour. It’s because he’s been around the wolves for too long,” said the wolf. “If you’re looking for a place to stay, follow me.”

“Why are you helping me?” Tian Lang asked as he followed her.

“I just want to have a normal human family so I can raise this child properly,” explained the wolf. “When I first met him, I was still very weak. I couldn’t raise him like a human would. But recently I am able to turn into a human, so I had thoughts of having a family for him.”

“But I’m not really human either. I don’t understand them.”

“I know, that’s why I dare to approach you in my natural form. We can figure it out together. It’s not like you can raise the child on your own either.”

Soon they arrived at a little cottage in the middle of the forest. The wolf morphed into her human form.

“My name is Hui Er (灰兒). What’s yours?”

“Tian Lang. He’s Li Feng. What about him? Has he not got a name yet?” He asked, pointing to the wolf boy. Hui Er shook her head. “How about Li Cheng (立程)? It’s not the same Li, but it’s so they can be brothers despite not being blood related.”

Hui Er nodded and kept calling the wild boy’s new name happily.

 

 


	2. Young Days are Always the Happiest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of the twins seven years later.

The fictitious family of four managed to adapt to the regular human life and lived peacefully for seven years. Tian Lang managed to earn a living by selling chopped firewood, whereas Hui Er would sell medicine that cure poison from wild animals.

Li Cheng managed to learn the human language within three years and was able to go to the small school in town. Despite being able to behave like other humans, his personality remained wild. If he decided on something, no one could change it apart from his fictitious younger brother; Li Feng.

Unlike Li Cheng, Li Feng is the quiet type. He often sits at home quietly reading excerpts of books that were thrown away by people in the village. The villagers didn’t show much appreciation to literature because being able to make a living was more important.

One day, as Li Feng was walking in the forest, he accidently fell into a trap. He screamed as he fell into the hole. Luckily it wasn’t that deep, however he was unable to escape by himself as he wasn’t tall enough. A few male voices cheered until they noticed him in the trap.

“It’s not a bear!” One man exclaimed.

“It doesn’t matter. If we sell him to the Palace we could get more money!” Another said excitedly.

The men pulled the boy up and Li Feng was finally able to see their features clearly. There were three of them and their appearance resembled the beggars in town. They were covered in dirt and their hair was a mess.

Li Feng tried to escape, but he wasn’t strong enough. He couldn’t scream as they tied a fabric around him to cover his mouth. They also tied him up so he wouldn’t be able to attack at all. Just as they were about to drag him away, a shadow flew past and knocked the three men off their feet. The boy looked up to see it was Tian Lang.

Tian Lang threw the boy onto his shoulders and ran back to their home. Once they were safe in the cottage, Tian Lang untied the boy with a sigh.

“Father, I’m sorry I caused you trouble again,” said the boy in a soft tone. Tian Lang merely laughed as he ruffled the child’s hair.

“Is that something a child your age would say? Looks like you’ve already grown up.” The man gave another elongated sigh. “I want to teach you swordsmanship so you can protect yourself in the future.”

The boy beamed a bright smile. Rather than teaching him immediately, Tian Lang called for Hui Er instead. Hui Er came rushing in frantically, as if she left all her duties behind just to respond to his call.

“Can you bring the books to me?” Tian Lang asked. Hui Er nodded. She went to the store room before coming back with two books on a scale. One book was relatively thin and the other one was a finger’s width thick. She placed the scale onto the table and walked out again. Li Feng gave a puzzling look. Tian Lang smiled benevolently at the child.

“Do you know the meaning behind your name?” Tian Lang asked, to which the child shook his head. “Feng is made up of two earths and one measurement. It’s so you would remember the land you belong and you would always have a measurement* in your heart to proportion what’s right and what’s wrong.”

“My name has such a deep meaning! Did you name me?”

Tian Lang shook his head. “Your mother gave you that name.” He heaved his third sigh as he remembered Consort Zhao. He could really tell how much she loved the boy and how much she didn’t want to give him away. “Therefore before I teach you anything, you need to be aware of this scale. On the left of the scales is the Book of Deeds, and on the right is the Book of Sins. They’re your books,” he said.

Li Feng furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “But I’m only seven years old. How could I possibly have so many deeds or sins? Did you write them for me?”

The elder laughed. “These books are from the underworld. They use these to determine your afterlife. Each deed and sin have its weight. A small deed would be written on a thin piece of paper and won’t take up much space in your book. A massive deed would be on a thick piece of paper. The same goes for your sins. Even an improper thought is considered a sin, so it’s very easy to have a thick sin book,” he explained. “Right now, your deeds outweigh your sins. I’m telling you this now, because once you’ve learnt how to use a sword I want you to remember this scale, so your sins would never be heavier than your deeds.” Tian Lang crouched down to meet the boy’s eye level.

“I understand. I will not use my sword to hurt others and I will only use my skills to help people.”

The man chuckled as he held Li Feng in his arms.

 

*

 

Meanwhile in the Palace, Consort Zhao fell ill, so her daughter was left in the hands of the maids and eunuchs. None of them were able to handle the Princess. She dressed up as a boy and attempted to escape the Palace. All the servants chased after her until they were out of breath.

The Princess laughed until her feet could no longer feel the ground. Her eyes widened in fright. She was picked up by an elderly man dressed in white robes.

“Put me down!” She demanded.

The man did as he was told and placed her down. The servants finally caught up and kept calling her ‘ _master (_ _主子**)_ ’ and how apologetic they felt for not looking after her properly.

“Ah, you must be one of the Princes. Which Prince are you?” The man asked as he stroked his long beard.

The Princess folded her arms. “I’m not a Prince! All the Princes view everyone as inferior. They just study the old texts, but they don’t understand them. They pretend to be nice in front of the Emperor so he would make them Crown Prince. How could I possibly be one of them?”

The elder let out a low chortle. “Then who are you?”

“My identity is a secret. If you knew you would get in trouble too.” All the maids and eunuchs kept quiet as they knew they’d be punished if they said too much.

“My dear child, then how will I be able to address you?” Suddenly sounds of the birds singing resounded in the Palace. “How about I call you Zi Ming (子鳴)?”

The Princess nodded happily at her new name.

“Do you visit the Palace often?” The elder asked.

“You could say that.”

“I am a teacher, and I come here to teach the Princes on the first five days of the month. If you want, you can come along. I’m Wei Jian Su (韋見素).”

“Teacher Wei, you mean that?!” The Princess was ecstatic. Everyone knew the education between the Princes and Princesses differed greatly. Li Chi always wanted to see what they learnt.

The teacher nodded with a kind smile.

 

*

 

Fortunately, none of the Princes knew of Li Ci’s existence, hence no one recognised her as the Princess. After sneaking into the classes as an assistant, she was able to learn about the previous wars and political decisions the country made in the past. Everything they discussed fascinated her. After each lesson, she would have a discussion with the teacher and express how she felt about the decisions made by previous rulers.

Teacher Wei adored her a lot as she was a keen learner and had a strong standpoint in her arguments. One day, he suggested to take her to his school outside the Palace so she could meet his other pupils. The Princess did not want to miss the opportunity, so she disguised herself as a eunuch and stole one of the eunuch’s tag that would allow her to exit the Palace along with the teacher.

The Princess jumped up and down once she left the Palace walls. She felt that she was finally free. He disliked the restrictions in the Palace. She heard that although there were no gender equality outside the Palace, females had a bit more freedom than the females inside the Palace. If a girl said something wrong, then they were likely to be forgiven if it wasn’t an offence to the Emperor, whereas the Princess would have been punished for it.

When they reached the school, the Princess could see children her age playing around. She felt envious of them. They looked so happy. At the entrance, they were then greeted by Teacher Wei’s favourite student; Zhang Wei Jin (張偉晉).

“Teacher, you’re finally back! Who’s this?” The tall boy asked.

Li Chi observed him from head to toe. She reckoned he was older than her due to his height. Though his clothes were plain, he was quite well dressed. She presumed that he was the son of a middle-class man. His had sharp eyes with dark eyebrows and a defined jawline.

“You must be Wei Jin. Teacher Wei told me a lot about you. You can call me Zi Ming,” said the Princess.

Li Ci’s visit to the school allowed her to meet many new friends and she was particularly fond of Wei Jin due to their similar thoughts. Time seemed to have flown past in an instant, and it was time for the Princess to return to the Palace. Li Ci didn’t want to leave.

“Maybe next time I can visit you in the Palace,” said Wei Jin.

“You can write to each other. I can deliver your letters. That way you can practice writing as well,” the teacher suggested.

“That’ll be great! Thank you!” The Princess grinned gleefully.

 

*

 

Tian Lang used a wooden sword to demonstrate what he was going to teach his youngest son. His movements were quick and slick. Despite only using a wooden sword he was still able to leave dents on the trees. Once he finished demonstrating, he made the boy stand in a stance for hours, as it was the basics to swordsmanship.

Li Cheng was watching them behind a large oak tree. He couldn’t understand why Tian Lang would teach Li Feng and not him. Just as he was buried in thoughts, Hui Er appeared.

“Are you jealous?” She asked.

“A little. Why isn’t he teaching me as well?”

“We made an agreement. He would teach Li Feng, and I would teach you. Are you ready?”

Li Cheng bounced his head up and down enthusiastically. Hui Er grinned and pulled a sword out from a falling leaf. She jumped up, waving her sword in the air, slicing the falling leaves into perfect halves.

“Your father is teaching your brother how to use a sword, but I’m teaching you how to use your energy. If you can get it right, then everything can be a weapon for you.”

Just watching his mother demonstrate made him eager to learn the art. Regardless how eager the boy was, he still couldn’t escape from the basics – meditation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The whole measurement thing really originates from a Chinese phrase ‘分寸’ which means knowing what you can and cannot do. In the text it’s quite difficult to explain.
> 
> **This phrase means master, owner, boss etc. It’s commonly used in the Palace


	3. Another Beginning of a Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story continues 9 years later. The twins are approaching 17.

Nine years later, both Li Cheng and Li Feng mastered their fictitious parents’ art, but were used for very different purposes. Li Feng continued to use a wooden to ensure he wouldn’t hurt anyone. The only times he used his swordsmanship was when he saw people being unreasonable to those weaker than them in the village.

Li Cheng, on the other hand, liked using his powers to trick people. One time he saw his teacher going to a brothel. He used his powers to bring his wife to the brothel so she could punish him. Despite their different personalities, their relationship remained strong throughout the years. Li Cheng adored his brother and Li Feng respected him in return.

Tian Lang and Hui Er were grateful that they were able to live happily as a family. Though they were aware their happiness would be short-lived once Li Feng reached seventeen.

“There’s only a few more months,” whispered Hui Er as she looked outside the door to see the two brothers chasing each other.

“I cannot thank you enough for all these years,” said Tian Lang as he drank his tea.

“Would it really be the end of us?”

“It depends on his decision.”

“But all those years…there are feelings.” She sighed as she turned to him. “Is there nothing else we can do? He’s such a good child, maybe the Jade Emperor changed his mind and nothing bad would happen.”

“You don’t understand the Jade Emperor, do you? Regardless of how much he cherish someone, rules of the skies comes first.”

 

*

 

The skies darkened with streaks of orange glowing between the grey clouds. Li Cheng went to buy food before the market closed, leaving Li Feng to wander in the forest. Night was approaching fast, and Li Feng was on his way back to the cottage when he saw a group of children catching fireflies in their baskets.

“Stop that,” he yelled as he ran towards the children. “You shouldn’t trap them like that.”

“Why?” A child asked with their arms crossed.

“Do you like to be trapped?” The children shook their heads. “They don’t either. They don’t live that long. If they have to spend their remaining lives trapped, then that’s really sad.”

The children sighed and obediently let the fireflies fly away. It wasn’t because they were sympathetic to the fireflies, but rather they wanted to avoid his nagging.

“You guys are so good! You will all grow up to be very kind people!” Li Feng flashed a proud smile before making his way back home. Little did he know that a firefly was secretly following him and observing his every move.

“Don’t even think about it!” A woman dressed in black appeared. The firefly was so shocked that it dropped to the ground instantly. The woman sighed before transferring her powers to the firefly via her hand. The firefly slowly morphed into a human girl with long black flowy hair and bright orange clothes.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything,” the firefly protested.

“Stop lying. You’re a goblin and he’s a human. It’s against the rules.”

“I know that, but I just want to repay his kindness. He saved our clan.”

The woman in black thought for a while and nodded in agreement. “That’s true, we must always repay our debts. I will let you repay him, then we’ll leave for the mountains straight after to visit master.” The woman in black transformed herself back to her original form; a rhinoceros beetle.

The two were good friends that trained under the same master to achieve immortality. Despite being goblins, they were still incredibly weak as they were considered young in the world of immortals. Therefore their master told them not to use their powers unless they had to, or they may be destroyed by stronger demons.

 

*

 

The Emperor decided that each Prince should have a studying partner, so they could hear the commoner’s perspective. Teacher Wei was in charge of the studying partners, and one of which he recommended was Wei Jin. When the news of Wei Jin reached the Palace, Li Ci was delighted. She missed him dearly as she wasn’t able to see him.

All her male clothes were thrown away by her mother. Consort Zhao told her that the Emperor would be furious if he found out and demanded that she never disguised herself as a boy ever again. She didn’t even dare to show up in front of Teacher Wei and only allowed a eunuch to deliver her letters. She was officially trapped in the Palace walls.

As she was frowning over her troubles, her trusted maid gave her an idea.

“Why don’t you just show up as you are? Maybe he won’t even recognise you.”

The Princess jumped up and grinned ear to ear.

“You are so smart! Since he’s going to be the studying partner for Prince Xin (信王), I can just pretend I’m visiting him to see Wei Jin.”

On the day the studying partners arrived, the Princess was hiding behind one of the pillars to see if she could recognise her friend. She was able to recognise him at first glance as he hardly changed - just his features were more masculine and taller than she remembered.

After they greeted the Emperor, they followed the Princes back to their courts. Her next problem was that she didn’t have an excuse to visit Prince Xin. Though he had a lovely character, they weren’t that close. In fact she wasn’t close to any of her siblings. She stood outside pouting as she searched for a reason to enter.

One of the eunuchs noticed her. He approached her and asked if she wanted to visit the Prince. The Princess was speechless and accidently uttered _‘yes’_ and the eunuch immediately announced her arrival so everyone in the court were aware of her visit.

She bit her bottom lip and reluctantly entered the court. She politely greeted the Prince with a bow which earned a kind smile from the Prince.

“What a pleasant surprise, take a seat. This is my new studying partner Zhang Wei Jin. This is one of my many beautiful sisters, Li Ci.”

Li Ci greeted Wei Jin politely, but he could only stare at her with eyes and mouth agape.

“You…”

Prince Xin faked a cough. “Wei Jin, you need to be careful with what you say in the Palace. You can’t address her as _‘you,’_ ” the Prince informed.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Princess.”

“It’s fine. If Prince Xin doesn’t mind, I’d like to drop the formalities here. You know I don’t like all these rules,” said the Princess.

“That’s right. Wei Jin, you’re lucky it’s only us here today.” The Prince chuckled. “Anyways, what’s the reason of your visit?”

“I was curious how studying with a commoner would be like. The Emperor believes they would be able to provide a different perspective. I want to see how different their thinking is and if they can really give a unique viewpoint.”

“I see. If Wei Jin doesn’t mind, let’s study together then. This Princess loves to learn. It’s unfortunate that the Princesses education is not the same as the Princes,” said the Prince.

“Of course I don’t mind. I would also love to learn from the Princess.”

 

*

 

After hours of studying and discussing together, it was time for them to part their ways. Li Ci and Wei Jin left the Prince’s court together and took a stroll in the garden.

“Princess Ci really have great knowledge and understanding of history and politics. I’m greatly impressed,” said Wei Jin.

“You also have great knowledge on literature. Your literacy talent is something I cannot compare with.” The Princess smiled.

“Princess, have you heard of the legend of the Butterfly Lovers (梁山伯與祝英台)?”

She froze. She was caught. The legend was about a girl who dressed up as a boy to study. The girl fell in love with one of the boys and faced a tragic ending.

“I really liked that legend, although they had a tragic ending, but to be able to love someone so much in a lifetime, I think it’s great.”

“What if you became the male character? Wouldn’t that be really upsetting?” She asked.

“For me to be that male character, then there must be someone worth me to take that character.” He stared intensively into her eyes and they both ended up smiling at each other.

 

*

 

The firefly goblin followed Li Feng to the village to see if there was anything she could help him with. She followed him for hours watching him visit stalls and talking to people. He seemed to be doing fine on his own. On the other hand, she was starving. A smile crept onto her face as she thought that he must be hungry as well.

She quickly went to a stall and asked for two buns. The problem was she was unfamiliar with humans and didn’t know that she had to pay. The owner of the store was angry when he saw her walking away and immediately stopped her.

“You have to pay first for the buns!” The owner said as he grabbed her wrist.

“Pay? How?” She asked absentmindedly.

“Do you think I’m stupid?! Drop the buns if you’re not going to pay!” He shouted.

“I’ll pay on her behalf.” She turned around to see Li Feng reaching out with a few metal pieces in his hands. The owner took the pieces and returned to his stall grumpily.

“T-Thank you,” she muttered. “Here,” she handed him one of the buns.

“It’s fine. Keep it for yourself. You must have been really hungry,” he said with a kind smile.

“Please take it. Otherwise I would feel so ashamed of myself.”

He let out a light hearted chuckle and took the bun from her hand. “Thank you. I’m Li Feng. What’s your name?”

“Yi-,” she paused. She couldn’t tell him that he was a firefly goblin. “My name is Xiao Ying (小營).

“That’s a lovely name. Where did you come from?”

She pointed to a random direction.

“Oh, you’re from Chang An?”

She nodded slightly, not knowing where the place was. He took her hand and placed a bag onto her palm.

“Here are some money. Don’t go stealing again,” he said before turning away to leave.

“T-Thank you!” The goblin sighed as he walked away. Instead of repaying him, she ended up owing him even more. She wondered how she would find an excuse to see him again. Here’s where fate comes into play. If there is no fate between the two, regardless of how hard they try, their paths wouldn’t cross. Yet if fate does tie them together, no matter how hard they try to escape it, they would still be pulled into the same path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ^^


	4. The Guardian of Soul

Li Ci was bored in the Palace. She wanted to leave, but she didn’t know how. She walked around the Imperial Garden and dismissed her maids and eunuchs. During her walk, she accidently ended up outside the home of one of the concubine and saw her having an affair with a Prince’s studying partner. 

“What are you two doing?” She gasped. 

Their eyes widened and their knees collapsed onto the ground. 

“Princess Ci, please forgive us. Please don’t report this to the Emperor,” the concubine said. 

The Princess smirked as she suddenly felt powerful and an idea appeared in her head. 

“On one condition,” she said as she leaned closer to the man. “I want your clothes and tag to leave the Palace. I’ll return it once tonight, I promise.”

“You’re leaving the Palace?!” The concubine inhaled deeply, shocked to hear that the Princess was so daring. 

“Then you don’t have to be afraid of me reporting you, because you can report me back. But if you report me first, then I would make sure the Emperor knows about you two,” she said in a sly manner. 

They obediently gave her the clothes and tag so she could leave the Palace. 

*

The Guardian of Souls was a new immortal in the heavens. She was responsible for monitoring the human’s souls to ensure that they weren’t overly bad. As she was on her duty, she witnessed the scene of Li Feng paying for Xiao Ying’s buns. She took a close look at his soul and found it absolutely beautiful.   
It was pure. 

She became curious of the human and decided to test to see if his soul was really that pure. She descended to the land and transformed herself into an ugly elderly woman. She even created a weird stench which could easily make one vomit. After her transformation, she approached Li Feng. 

“Young man!” She called out in a croaky voice. Li Feng immediately rushed towards her. 

“Were you calling me?”

“Of course! Who else is there that I could call?” Li Feng glanced around and there wasn’t a soul in sight. “My leg is hurting really badly. Can you help me so I can go to the village doctor?”

Li Feng immediately agreed and placed his arm around her so he could support her as she walked. The Guardian was startled by his actions. 

“What a lovely gentleman you are. I apologise for my smell. I haven’t bathed in days,” she said. 

Li Feng grinned. “That’s alright. I’m sure it’s difficult for you to bathe by yourself. Sadly I’m not a girl, otherwise I’d help you.”

The Guardian felt embarrassed by his words. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. As they walked together, the Guardian found herself attracted to the young man due to his kind heart. Once they reached the local doctor, Li Feng paid her medical fees before he left. The Guardian was touched by his actions, but she was still sceptical about his heart. 

She decided to test him again. 

This time she appeared as a young boy, no older than the age of ten. She ran towards Li Feng so quickly that she was able to knock him off his feet.   
“Why aren’t you looking at where you’re going?!” Said the young boy. 

Li Feng got up and dusted the dirt from hi clothes. “You were the one that collided into me from behind. How can I possibly know you were behind me?”

“I don’t care,” said the child as he folded his arms. “You should apologize to me!”

Li Feng laughed. “I’m sorry.”

The child glanced at him as though he was insane. “You’re so obedient!”

“They are only words. If you want to hear them, I am happy to say it more times. Now, you should apologise to me.”

“Why?!”

“Why would it matter? They are only words and wouldn’t cost you anything. As you grow older, you would realise that good relationship is more valuable than money. If you could have good relationship by just saying a few words, then is it not worth it?”

The child was thunderstruck. The Guardian realised she could no longer act as a spoilt child anymore. “I-I’m sorry.”

“That’s a good boy. I have to go now, goodbye.” Li Feng waved and continued his journey home. 

The Guardian sat on a rock and wondered if she wasn’t spoilt enough to test him. Perhaps the human children were so spoilt that compared to her version, she was considered nice. She decided to do one final test. 

The next day, the Guardian follows Li Feng to town. This time she was a beautiful young girl. She was so beautiful that she caught many townsmen’s eye. They were stopping her to tell her how beautiful she was and asked for her name. She tried to walk past them but they were persistent and dragged her by the arm. 

“Let go! Stop touching me!” She yelled. 

“How could you guys harass a girl in broad daylight? That’s so ungentlemanly.”  
The Guardian looked up to see a person that resembled Li Feng, but didn’t quite have the same features. This person’s features were softer, their lips were brighter and shorter than Li Feng. The Guardian took a glance at her soul – it definitely wasn’t the same. In fact, she felt that the person was a female. 

“None of your business!” 

“It’s everyone’s business! You’re harassing the girl in daylight means you’re assaulting my eyes. More importantly, you’re making such a big crowd that no one could pass this street.”

The men were getting impatient and raised their fists, but their arms immediately dropped after a wooden sword hit them. 

“I agree with this young gentleman over here. If you guys continue, we’ll just have to report this to the local official,” Li Feng stated.   
The crowd dispersed with incoherent grumbling. The Guardian approached the two and thanked them. 

“No wonder they were bothering you, you’re so pretty!” Exclaimed the girl that resembled Li Feng. 

“Thank you. My name is Ling Er (靈兒). May I know your names?”

“I’m Zi Ming.”

“Li Feng.”

Li Ci took another glance at Li Feng. Their resemblance was uncanny. Somehow she felt there was a strange connection with him, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. 

“I’d like to treat you two to a meal, to show how grateful I am,” Ling Er said. 

“No, that’s not right,” Li Feng protested. “You don’t need to feel indebted to me.”

“Then let me pay for a meal. I would feel better that way.”

Li Ci was drowning in her thoughts. Li Feng and Ling Er were looking for a place to eat whereas Li Ci was unable to move from her position. Then she noticed an object tied to Li Feng’s clothes – a pendant that looked exactly like hers.

**Author's Note:**

> *寸 – has multiple meanings, such as length and measurement.
> 
> Hello~ So after watching numerous historical dramas, I wanted to make one of my own :)  
> Throughout this story, there will be lots of Chinese references, but they would be explained so non-Chinese readers would be able to understand. 
> 
> Feedback/Comments would be greatly appreciated. 
> 
> Thanks :)


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